Toad
CGI Series= |-|Model Series= |-|Railway Series= Toad *'Number': GW 56831 *'Class': GWR 20-ton brake van *'Builder': Swindon Works *'Built': 1940 *'Arrived on Sodor': 1967 Toad is a Great Western brake van who escaped from scrap with Oliver and Isabel. Bio Toad worked with Oliver on the Great Western Railway before being threatened with the prospect of scrapping. Oliver, Toad, and an autocoach named Isabel ran away for the greener pastures of the North Western Railway, but Oliver ran out of coal en route. Luckily, they were rescued by Douglas and brought back to Sodor. In the Railway Series, Toad asked to be Douglas' brake van as a show of thanks. In the television series, Toad remains as Oliver's brake van. When S.C. Ruffey began to start a trend of disrespecting the engines, Toad had the idea for Oliver to show him and his lieutenants the error of their ways. This turned out better than expected, for Oliver pulled S.C. Ruffey apart and won back the respect of the trucks. In the television series, Toad was tired of always going backwards and wanted to be a leader for a change. The trucks decided to teach Toad to be careful what he wishes for by breaking away from Oliver on Gordon's Hill and, as a result, he narrowly avoided James, crashed into some level crossing gates, and stopped by taking a plunge into a pond. Afterwards, Toad decided that always going backwards was not so bad after all. While Gator was on Sodor, he once took some of Oliver's trucks with Toad, who kept insisting that Gator should stop and relight his lamp. After being briefly taken off the train after forcing them to stop with his brakes, Toad had the "bright" idea of giving Gator one of his lamps to replace his broken one. This idea worked, and Gator thanked Toad once they had finished their journey. By Toad's Adventure, Toad had become bored of repeatedly hearing the story of Oliver's escape, and longed for an adventure story of his own to tell. His wish was granted when he went to work with James, who ran much too fast, and hit a fallen branch on Gordon's Hill, uncoupling his trucks. Toad managed to stop the trucks, and prevented a crash with Thomas and Percy. When he returned to the Yard, he told a disbelieving Oliver all about it. Toad eventually began to sing during his journeys with Oliver, which the Western engine liked at first, but quickly got fed up of listening. Later, as they were passing Bluff's Cove, Toad spotted a whale stranded on the beach and tried to tell Oliver, but Oliver thought Toad was joking. But later that day when the two passed the same area again, Oliver saw the whale and apologised to Toad. They informed the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, but after a few attempts at moving the whale proved unsuccessful, Toad had the idea of using a flatbed to transport the whale to Brendam, where Cranky gently placed the whale back into the water. Now whenever Toad passes through Bluffs Cove, he remembers his friend, and sings about him. In Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure he, along with Oliver, helped to build the new Harwick Branch Line and attended the line's opening. Persona Toad is a polite, gentlemanly brake van. He is also somewhat imaginative and a bit of an optimist. Toad minds his manners well and always quick to refer to the engines as "Mr.", "Miss", or "Sir". He escaped from scrap with Oliver, with some help from Douglas. Toad is very loyal, keeps Oliver's trucks in order, and has his best interests at heart. He has a cunning streak within him should the trucks cause any particular bother and does like fun when it comes his way, but he is typically calm, obedient, and content in his work. Basis Toad is based on a Great Western Railway 20-ton brake van. Early vans were just 10 or 16 tons weight, but this gradually increased to 20 and 25 tons. Livery Toad is painted grey with "GW 56831" written on his side in white. Before being repaired in Enterprising Engines, and in an illustration portraying him before Escape from the subsequent book, Toad was painted brown. In the Railway Series, his face is the same colour as his bodywork, but in the television series he has a light grey face. Appearances Voice Actors * Joe Mills (UK/US; eighteenth season onwards) * Yūsuke Numata (Japan; fourth-seventh seasons) * Kunihiro Kawamoto (Japan; eighteenth season onwards) * Paweł Ciołkosz (Poland; eighteenth season onwards) * Achim Schülke (Germany) * Nir Ron (Israel; Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure) * Fabrice Trojani (France and French speaking Canada; eighteenth season onwards) * Bardo Miranda (Latin America; eighteenth season only) * Reinder van der Naalt (The Netherlands) * Armando Bungău (Romania) * Denis Bespalyy (Russia; eighteenth season onwards excluding Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure) Trivia * One of Toad's model was previously on display at Nitrogen Studios and is on display at Drayton Manor. * Toad's ERTL toy incorrectly states that his number is "5683". * Toad's name originates from a nickname ("toad") given to brake vans on the Great Western Railway. Toad is also based upon a brake van that carries the same number. It can also be considered a subtle pun: a brake van is 'towed' everywhere it goes. * When Toad returned in the eighteenth season, he had some modifications. These include: ** Grey buffers. ** Grey handrails as opposed to his original white handrails. ** His glass windows were removed, replaced with open windows. ** Only one side has the Great Western markings. ** He is slightly longer than his model form. ** He is a lighter shade of grey. ** He is slightly taller than his model counterpart. * Both Toad's physical and CGI models deviate a bit from their real-life counterpart: in real-life, Toad's basis has sandboxes near the handbrake, and also has a white interior with a desk, seat, etc. Toad lacks these features, both in model and in CGI forms. * In Latin America, Toad gains an Argentine accent in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. * Toad is the first brake van in the TV series to have a name. Merchandise * ERTL (discontinued) * Wooden Railway (re-introduced in 2006; discontinued) * Take Along (discontinued) * Take-n-Play * Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued) * Mini Die Cast Collection (discontinued) * Motor Road and Rail (discontinued outside Asia) * TrackMaster (discontinued) * My First Thomas * Trading Cards (discontinued) * Hornby (discontinued) * Bachmann * Nakayoshi (discontinued) * Wind-up Trains (normal and clear; Japan only) * Brio (discontinued) Gallery File:ToadStandsByRS2.png|Toad with Douglas in the Railway Series File:ToadStandsByRS3.png|Oliver, Duck and Toad File:EscapeRS4.png|Oliver, Isabel and Toad hide on an old branch File:Escape49.png|Toad in his scrap livery File:Escape62.png|Toad in the third season File:ToadStandsBy24.png|Toad in the fourth season File:ToadStandsBy30.png|Douglas and Toad File:ToadStandsBy33.png File:Oliver'sFind3.png|Toad in the fifth season File:BusyGoingBackwards95.png|Toad in the pond File:BusyGoingBackwards96.png File:BusyGoingBackwards99.png File:BusyGoingBackwards100.png File:BusyGoingBackwards102.png File:OliverandToadSeason6.png|Toad in a deleted scene from the sixth season File:SnowEngine6.png|Toad in the seventh season File:SnowEngine7.png File:SnowEngine15.png File:SnowEngine33.png File:SnowEngine37.png File:GordonTakesaShortcut31.png|Toad with a CGI face File:GordonTakesaShortcut29.png|Oliver and Toad in the twelfth season File:Toad'sAdventure107.png|Toad in full CGI File:Toad'sAdventure52.png|Toad's guard File:Toad'sAdventure80.png|Toad's wheels File:Toad'sBrightIdea23.png|Toad with Gator File:ToadandtheWhale3.png|Toad in the nineteenth season File:ToadandtheWhale85.png File:Sodor'sLegendoftheLostTreasure64.png|Toad in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure File:Sodor'sLegendoftheLostTreasure826.png File:BlownAway71.png|Toad in the twentieth season File:SkiffandtheMermaid23.png File:ToadCGIpromo.png File:ToadCGIpromo3.png File:CGIHead-onToadPromo.png File:Head-OnToadPromo.jpg|Head-on model promo File:FacelessToadDraytonManor.jpeg|A Toad brake van on display at Drayton Manor File:Fish(Season8)34.png|Toad's eyes-closed face on a truck in the eighth season File:EmilyKnowsBest49.png|Toad's surprised face on a truck in the ninth season File:EmilyKnowsBest52.png|Toad's eyes-closed face on a truck in the ninth season File:Oliver The Snow Engine ThomasLandJapan.jpg|Toad at Thomas Land in Japan File:ToadbyTommyStubbs.png|Toad as illustrated by Tommy Stubbs File:ToadERTLPromo.JPG|ERTL Promo art File:Toadpromotionalart.jpg|Second ERTL Promo File:TheThomastheTankEngineMan(Bookmarkdocumentary)23.png|Toad's model File:DayOutwithThomasToad.JPG|Toad at a Day Out With Thomas event File:DayOutwithThomasBrakevans.jpg|Toad (far right) at a Day Out With Thomas event with some other brake vans File:Toad'sbasis.jpg|The real Toad Merchandise Gallery File:ERTLToad.jpg|ERTL File:WoodenRailwayToadold-style.png|1998 Wooden Railway File:WoodenToad.jpg|2006 Reintroduced Wooden Railway File:BrioToad.png|Brio File:Take-AlongToad.jpg|Take-Along File:Take-n-PlayToad.jpg|Take-n-Play File:TomyDuck.jpg|Motor Road and Rail Duck with S.C. Ruffey and Toad File:TrackMasterToad.jpg|TrackMaster File:TrackMasterToadAndTrucks.jpg|TrackMaster in Truck pack File:HornbyToad.JPG|Hornby File:BachmannToad.jpeg|Bachmann File:MyFirstThomasToad.jpg|My First Thomas File:BandaiTECToad.png|Bandai TEC File:Wind-upToad.jpg|Wind-up File:Wind-upClearMetallicToad.jpg|Wind up Clear metallic File:ToadTradingCard.png|Trading Card See also * Category:Images of Toad Category:Brake Vans Category:North Western Railway Category:Rolling stock Category:The Little Western